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Hindu Dharma Forums FAQ

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About Hindu Dharma Forums

Hindu Dharma Forums is an open forum for constructive discussion on all aspects of Indian culture and traditions and the positive presentation of Sanatana Dharma (the Eternal Religion, known as Hinduism or simply as Dharma, the spiritual Duty or universal Law).

Forum Rules

This is a Sanatana Dharma Forum for the constructive discussion on all aspects of Indian culture and traditions.

Core Intentions

Discussions on Sanatana Dharma

While other ideas are welcomed and considered, the core of our thinking is Sanatana Dharma and its rich, vast offerings.

Positive Presentation of Sanatana Dharma

This forum is for the positive presentation of Sanatana Dharma and we expect your participation to be positive and uplifting.
While curiosity about our tradition is welcomed, questions must be asked in the spirit of learning and the knowledge that our tradition offers.
If these ideas seem foreign to you or if this will be a struggle for you, then HDF may not be a good fit for you.
Moderators will direct you out of this forum, to other communities on the Internet better suited for your needs.

Quality Posts Quality Members

HDF's aspiration is spiritual upliftment through sharing and discussion of knowledge.
We seek quality posts that bring value to the reader. It is therefore not our intent to have mass audience, mass distribution, or large membership.
This forum exists for simple people who wish to share the beauty and profundity of Sanatana Dharma.
Here is an example of what we think a quality post should contain http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2550.
We expect you to adhere to these goals when posting on this forum.

Specific Requirements

With the above core intentions in mind, the following rules must be observed when posting on this forum or when communicating with other members via private messaging or e-mail.
There is no compromise or debate on these requirements.

Start your posts with a greeting

Please start your posts with a greeting. It sets the tone of your posts and maintains a civil environment on the forum.

No Flaming or ill words will be posted on this forum

Do no post messages that are hostile and/or insulting to another member or guest.

Do not post inflammatory, rude, repetitive, or offensive messages which annoy or antagonize other members or disrupt the flow of discussion.
This includes messages in profiles and signatures.
You can disagree with other members' views, but should do so politely.

Do not post insulting, hostile or negative comments about Hindus, Hinduism, India, Indians or any traditions of Sanatana Dharma.

No Trolling

Controversial topics are welcomed on this forum; however, do not post for the sole purpose of creating controversy or hostility.
Controversial or off-topic messages, which serve no purpose except baiting other members to reply, will be removed.

Do not reply to trolls in any way. All responses will be removed.

No Spamming, blanketing, or canvassing of any kind is acceptable on this forum

Do not double-post or cross-post the same message in multiple forums.

Short messages (fewer than seven words or a couple of lines) that do not contribute to a discussion in a positive manner are also classified as spam.

Do not post for the sake of post count. Your posts will be removed if you are observed to be posting unhelpful or non-contributing messages simply to increase your numbers.

Large cut-and-paste texts from other sites, without providing any of your own commentary on the material, is also considered spam.

If you must use material from other sites in discussions on this forum, please provide a link to that material instead.

No Self Promotion

This forum does not accept any commercial, for-profit, self-promotion or advertising offers or solicitations from or for other sites. Any such posts will be removed.

No Necro Behaviour (i.e., posting replies to very old threads which have not been locked)

All replies to a very old thread (defined as two years or longer without any new postings) will be removed.
If you feel strongly about posting a reply, please discuss with a moderator whether to start a new thread or reply to the old thread.

No Hijacking of threads

Do not hijack threads with topics from other discussions. Any such posts will be removed.

No Complaining

This forum is a free service for like-minded people who want to learn about Sanatana Dharma.

Membership on this forum is a privilege and not a right. As such, do not complain when moderators do not accept your membership or ban you for rules violation, and do not make another account to circumvent a ban.

Do not complain about other users being banned, in the forums or on profile pages of other users. If we do not accept your membership, views or posts, do not threaten the forum or moderators. Any of these actions will result in your own ban.

Do not complain if a moderator removes your post. HDF moderators know best what is good for HDF. If they removed your post, they had a good reason. Complaining about it or sulking from thread to thread or in private messages will only result in your ban.

No Sock Puppets

Do not insult yourself by creating alternate or multiple accounts.
Members who create sock puppet accounts will be banned and all their accounts removed.
Though we are simple people, know that our moderators are skilled and know all the tricks.

No Personal Information

Do not post your home or work address, telephone number or any personal data. Do not post any personal information of others.

No Shouting

Turn off your caps lock so that you do not use ALL CAPS when posting. Such posts will be removed.

No Proselytizing

This is a forum for the discussion of the Hindu religion. Brief factual comparisons to other faiths are allowed if they help in further exploring Hindu history and tradition, particularly in the section marked Other Dharma Traditions, but long discussions of other faiths is highly discouraged.
If you have come to our forum from a non-Hindu religion, know that Hindus do not seek to convert others and do not tolerate attempts at conversion.
Praising the superiority of your deity/ies, encouraging others to join your tradition or religion, warning members that their beliefs are wrong, or any other such postings are considered aggressive conversion attempts and are not accepted here.
You will be permanently banned without warning.

Account Termination

HDF moderators have the right to terminate your account at-will,
for violations of the above conditions or for any other reason that they see fit.

Concluding Remarks

We feel quite fortunate to come together as a community of like-minded people and we respect this right to do so.
If you are new to Sanatana Dharma then it will be good for you to read, listen and learn. Add value when you think you can participate,
but above all ask questions that will help you understand this wisdom and knowledge.
Be patient with yourself and with other members. Most of all enjoy the discussions.

The Blog system gives you your own personal space at Hindu Dharma Forums. Depending on how the administrator has configured the blog, you will be able to create your own entries and control who may view them.

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